Zippy the Cat
by xXRisslovesyouXx
Summary: Dick Grayson is moving into an apartment, and is completely alone. How can Tim help? Bat brother bonding. Oneshot. First fic! :3


**So I'm not sure if Tim is an orphan or living with Bruce yet in "YJ: Invasion," but let's just say for the story's sake that he does. I don't own Young Justice or any of the characters therein. Or a cat named Zippy, unfortunately. **

**Zippy the Cat**

Today was the day.

Dick Grayson, 18 year old ward of Bruce Wayne, was moving out of Wayne Manor today. He was moving to a dirty little apartment in Bludhaven, much to Bruce's distaste. When Bruce had asked if he needed help moving in, Dick simply replied that Tim was helping, and they had managed to hook one Kryptonian, Connor Kent, into helping, too.

After many goodbye hugs from Alfred and reassuring Bruce that he would be fine in Bludhaven on his own (he was, after all, a man now), Dick and Tim had made their way to the Cave to find Connor, who was just glad to get away from M'gann and La'gaan's "us time," as they referred to it.

About an hour later, the trio arrived at the door to the rather dismal looking apartment.

"Looks like a keeper," Connor snorted, noticing one of the numbers on the door was missing, and about five apartments down, police tape was positioned over a door.  
"Funny. Look, I figured if I wanted to learn about the bad guys here, I might as well live here."  
"Just don't die…" This came from Tim, who was referring to what Dick had asked when he had been made leader of Gamma. Dick sighed.  
"We're not going to get anything accomplished just sitting here," he said as he inserted the key. He opened the door.  
"Yeesh…" All three boys made a face.  
"Okay, so it's a bit of a fixer-upper," Dick said, remaining optimistic. Nothing three superheroes can't handle, right?

Almost four hours and one lunch break later, the tiny apartment had started to look like home. It had a couch, a television, a coffee table, a made-up bed, and a few kitchen supplies. Dick had said that really, all it needed now was a new paint job. Something that covered up the stains that were _everywhere_. When Connor suggested that they do it now (he _really_ didn't feel like going back to the cave just yet), they all decided to at least paint it back to (what they all assumed) had once been white. Sort of. Boring, maybe, but it was better than blood stains, right?

Finally, at about dinner time, the boys had finished roughly painting the tiny apartment, just enough to make it look a bit cleaner. After deciding that they were both starving and high off of paint fumes, they decided to try a small diner just around the corner. They had managed to somehow get everything on Dick's "to do" list completed. The apartment was in a suitable condition for now.

After their dinner, the three boys returned to Dick's little apartment. Soon after, Dick received a call from Green Arrow about gangs in Star City. Connor said that they should go back to the cave by the Zeta transporter that Batman had installed in Bludhaven (The man really did think of everything) and put together an Alpha squad. Dick said he'd be along.  
Sensing his brother's hesitance, Tim said that he'd be there in a minute, too. Connor nodded and closed the door.

"Something wrong, Dick?" He remained quiet for a second.  
"Just… thinking."  
"About?"  
"This," he gestured to his new apartment.  
"Don't you like it?"  
"Well, it's nice, I guess, it's just…"  
"…just what, Dick?"  
"I guess I'm finally realizing how alone I'll be. I mean, I've always been around people, ever since I was really little. There were lots of people at the circus; I was used to being in a cramped space with loads of people. Even when Bruce took me in, I was never really alone. Now… now I'm alone." Dick looked down at his feet sadly. Tim pursed his lips at his adopted brother. Then, he made a split second decision to hug him. He knew how much Dick loved hugs. Tim never really cared for them, but they seemed to make Dick feel better.  
"It'll be okay. I promise. You can call me anytime you want; I'll be over faster than you can hang up the phone." Dick cracked a small smile and ruffled his little brother's hair.  
"Thanks, T. I might just have to take you upon that offer." It was Tim's turn to smile.  
"Come on, we've got lots of work to do."  
_

"Robin, Beast Boy, Impulse, and Blue Beetle, you will be on Alpha, and your mission is to sneak into this," Nightwing pointed to the holoscreen before him, "warehouse in Star City. Green Arrow believes that you will find the headquarters of a notorious gang there. Since he is currently working a case in Beijing, he has asked that you go undercover to find out if it has been this gang that is behind a series of robberies and break-ins. You'll be taking the Bioship, and you'll be deployed immediately."

With that, the four heroes entered the Bioship and went on their way. When they arrived at the warehouse in question, they began to set up their equipment. Robin was finding it hard to focus on the task at hand; setting up his "super spy-ninja stuff," as Impulse had called it. His mind kept wandering to Dick. He knew how his brother got when he was lonely; he and Batgirl compared him to "leaving a new puppy at home for long periods of time; probably whining and crying all night." The thought of Dick like this made Robin sad. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Beast Boy and Impulse talking rather loudly. (Why the two of them were put on a spy mission was beyond him)

"Hey, look!" Impulse pointed to the shadows. "What's that over there?"  
"Whatever it is, ese, your yelling is gonna scare it away."  
"I'm not yelling!" Impulse retorted indignantly. The three other boys shushed him. "Oops, sorry," he whispered.  
"Meow," said the shadows.  
"It's a cat!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Sure enough, a young cat sauntered out from the darkness.  
"Meow!" the cat rubbed it's head against Beast Boy's leg.  
"Aw! Look how cute!" Impulse gushed. Robin and Blue Beetle rolled their eyes.  
"We don't have time for this!" Robin reprimanded. "I've detected some movement inside the warehouse. We have to get ready!"  
_

The mission was a success; the gang had been neutralized. When the boys returned to the cave, Nightwing told Robin to report. He told Nightwing about the gang and how the members had put up quite a struggle, but had otherwise been easily subdued. Satisfied, Nightwing left the cave to spend his first night in his new apartment, alone. For the second time that day, Robin pursed his lips at his older brother as he watched him walk towards the Zeta tubes. His attention was grasped by laughing. It sounded like Jaime, Gar, and Bart. Robin rolled his eyes and walked towards the laughter which was, inevitably going to lead to some sort of destruction, he mused.

He came to the Rec. room and what he saw wasn't what he had expected. What he saw was a cat trying to keep up with a blur that he assumed was Bart, and Jaime and Gar, who were practically rolling on the floor laughing. Robin felt his eyebrow quirk up at the sight. When the other three noticed Robin, they stopped.  
"Someone feel like explaining?" Robin asked.  
"We came in here and heard meowing, and look! It's the cat from the warehouse in Star City!"  
"We think she must have followed us onto the Bioship when we weren't looking. She scared the crap outta Bart, too!"  
"That part was _so_ not crash…"  
"Yeah, and then she started chasing him! We figured out that she was just playing, and to be honest, ese, it's pretty funny to watch," Jaime laughed.  
Robin was silent, thinking. After a few seconds, Bart announced that they didn't know what to do with "Zippy."  
"Well, thanks, Captain Obvious," Gar teased. "And Zippy?"  
"Yeah! She obviously like running. She's so much fun, just like a speedster!"  
"Noted."  
After a minute, Robin finally said something.  
"Hey guys, do you think I could take her with me? I think I know someone who'd like her." The boys looked at each other before nodding.  
"I guess so. As long as they keep her name!" Bart said.  
Robin scooped up "Zippy." He knew exactly where he'd take her.

"Where have you been?" Bruce demanded gruffly.  
"Oh, just visiting Dick." After Bruce reprimanded Tim for being out so late, he sent him off to bed. It didn't matter that he had just been chewed out. Tim knew it had to be done. He smiled to himself.

Dick woke up with something weighing his chest down. Groggily, he blinked his eyes and looked around. He stared at the cat on his chest.  
"What the…"  
The cat blinked at him. "Meow," it said.  
Confused, Dick sat up, accidentally (and quite unceremoniously) dumping the cat on his new bed. He groaned. He had slept rather fitfully. When he walked into his "kitchen," he found a note on the table.

_Dick,_

_Last night, Jaime, Gar, Bart and I came across this cat. She seems to like people a lot, and she especially loves to run around and play. Bart has been calling her "Zippy" because of this, and I think it kind of suits her. I managed to get you all sorts of things that you'll need, including food, a litter box, and lots and lots of toys. Take good care of her and I know that she'd love to keep you company. _

_-T_

Dick smiled. Tim really was good at making him feel better. It was true; now his apartment didn't seem quite so lonely. He felt something rub his leg.  
"Meow?" He looked down. Zippy had a toy mouse in her mouth. Dick smiled again and took it from her. The two continued playing happily until Dick's phone rang. It was Tim.

"So, you like your new friend?"  
Dick laughed. "Tim?"  
"Yes, Dick?"  
"You're a brat."  
_

**So I'm not really sure where this came from, to be honest. I guess I saw something online about Dick hating to be alone, and then I wondered how he'd get through life in his own apartment, then this kinda happened I guess. Please review! And don't just say you hate it; at least give me a constructive reason as to why you hate it. First fic, done! :3 Thanks for reading!**


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